Wesley Crusher
Wesley Robert Crusher was the gifted son of Starfleet officers Lieutenant Commander Jack Crusher and Dr. Beverly Crusher, born in 2348. His promising Starfleet career was cut short, leading him to a unique life accompanying the transdimensional Tau Alphan dubbed The Traveler, last seen in 2370. He eventually finished his training and became a full-fledged Starfleet officer, holding the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade by 2379. ''Enterprise'' When Wesley was only five, his father was killed while serving on the under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Several years later, fifteen-year-old Wesley found himself living aboard the starship when his mother became Captain Picard's chief medical officer. ( ) Wesley often was a challenge for the captain because of the captain's resentment toward children, though his early genius, extensive knowledge of engineering, and top grades on scientific examinations continuously impressed Picard. These same characteristics were, in part, the cause of Wesley suffering from loneliness when he was young as his peers were intimidated by his bright mind – he also showed a tendency to take his duties almost too seriously. Wesley excelled at his studies aboard that vessel and through the primary school found himself participating in work-study programs alongside many of the Enterprise s senior officers. When the crew of the Enterprise became infected with the polywater intoxication virus that caused loss of emotional control, Wesley also became infected. He took control of engineering and watched as Jim Shimoda pulled out most of the isolinear chips that controlled the navigational system of the ship, putting the ship in danger when a stellar core fragment was hurtling in their direction. However, the incident did allow Wesley to display his knowledge of the ship's inner workings. ( ) During a visit to the planet Rubicun III, Wesley accidentally violated one of their laws by disturbing new plants and was to be sentenced to death. Picard discovered that the people known as the Edo were controlled and provided for by a mysterious object in space. It was the inhabitants of this vessel who had passed judgment on the Enterprise crew. Picard ignored the Prime Directive and beamed Wesley to safety, preparing to battle the ship in space. Nothing happened and the ship faded away. ( ) Wesley was given his wish of being ten years older after Commander Riker was given the power of the Q, but he rejected the offer stating that he wanted to get there on his own. ( ) In the attempt by Lore to hijack the Enterprise, it was Wesley who discovered that Lore was impersonating Data. Late that year, Wesley would take the Starfleet Academy entrance exam. Although he did not pass this time, his spirits were lifted by Picard who told him he too failed the first time. ( ) When the Aldeans kidnapped the children on the Enterprise because they were unable to procreate, Wesley led the children in acts of noncooperation. After the Enterprise offered to cure the Aldeans, they released the children. ( ) In 2364, Wesley befriended The Traveler when he accompanied Kosinski aboard the Enterprise-D to assist with warp drive efficiency upgrade experiments. When the ship was transported millions of light years to the M-33 Galaxy, Wesley assisted The Traveler in returning the ship to known space. It was just before the Enterprise s return to its original position that the teen's Mozart-like genius potential was tapped into with the help of The Traveler and his destiny became known to Picard and Dr. Crusher. Captain Picard was so impressed with Wesley's contributions that he granted Wesley a field commission to acting ensign. ( ) Crusher eventually met Salia, a young girl who was to be the ruler of Daled IV. Salia was tended to by Anya, an allasomorph who could change shapes. She threatened Wesley but was stopped by Salia. Although she, too, was smitten with Wesley, she chose to do her duty and left the Enterprise. ( ) In 2365, William Riker assigned Wesley command of a science team with the mission of investigating Selcundi Drema. Wesley chose Prixus, Alans, Hildebrant and Davies to serve on his team. ( ) One of Wesley's experiments went wrong and almost destroyed the Enterprise. He had created nanites, small robots, that were replicating and becoming sentient. After a scientist on board Enterprise, Dr. Paul Stubbs, tried to kill them because they had interfered with his experiment, they attacked the ship. Data allowed them to enter his body in order to speak through him, and a solution was found. ( ) Wesley successfully completed his written exams for Starfleet Academy in 2366 but did not complete his oral exams that year when he failed to board the for the journey to Earth. When reviewing his service record, Captain Picard felt that Wesley's service made him an acting ensign in name only, and promoted him to full ensign, with all responsibilities and privileges – including the right to wear a Starfleet uniform. Wesley served as ensign aboard the Enterprise for the next year before leaving to become a cadet. ( ) Starfleet Academy After being accepted to Starfleet Academy, Picard offered to travel with Wesley to the Academy, but first had to stop on Pentarus to mediate a dispute. The two were to travel with a representative of the planet named Dirgo. Their shuttle crashed and they were stranded on a desert planet. They found a water fountain in a cave but it was guarded by a force field. When Dirgo fired on the field, an electrical pulse discharged causing a rock slide that seriously injured Picard. Later Dirgo was killed by the same pulse. Wesley was able to disengage the force field and get water, saving Picard. They were rescued by the Enterprise. ( ) A year later Wesley visited his mother on the Enterprise for vacation. Over the course of his visit, he developed an attraction to Ensign Robin Lefler. They discovered that the crew had come under the influence of a diabolical game that was really a mind control device; it had been given to Riker on Risa in an attempt to capture the Enterprise. With the help of Lefler, Wesley and Data were able to disable the devices and restore the crew to normal. Before he left, Lefler gave Wesley a copy of "Robin's Laws" as a memento. ( ) At the Academy Wesley became a member of the elite Nova Squadron. His graduation was troubled with a deadly accident with the Nova Squadron comrades, that precipitated an attempted cover up in which he participated, about the fact they were engaged in a dangerous and prohibited flight maneuver stunt called Kolvoord Starburst which caused the incident. He confessed after he was confronted by Captain Picard who deduced the truth and threatened to come forward with his evidence unless Wesley did. Wesley complied and as a result, he was spared expulsion, but his grades for that year were voided as punishment and he was required to repeat the course load. This penalty and the shame with it contributed to a significant loss of enthusiasm for a career in Starfleet. ( ) Cadet Crusher resigned from Starfleet Academy in 2370 after The Traveler (posing as a villager on Dorvan V) guided Wesley to a vision of his deceased father telling him that his destiny lay somewhere other than with Starfleet. Wesley heeded the advice after which The Traveler revealed his true identity and promised to mentor the young man on his new journey, presumably to other planes of existence. ( ) in 2379]] Wesley attended the marriage of William Riker and Deanna Troi in a lieutenant's (junior grade) dress uniform. ( ) Alternate realities In a parallel universe, Wesley Crusher served as a lieutenant on the USS Enterprise. ( ) Holograms ]] Wesley was holographically duplicated at least twice. *Lt. Reginald Barclay in 2366 recreated Wesley at least twice when he was suffering from holo-addiction. In one of his holo-fantasies, Wesley was an ill-mannered slob and his mother had to chide him, saying that "Master Barclay" would spank him if he misbehaved. In another, the entire crew of the Enterprise-D was recreated, and this Wesley was present when Barclay said goodbye to his fantasies and deleted the programs. ( ) Service Record *2364: acting ensign *2364-2366: USS Enterprise-D Conn Officer, acting ensign *2366-2367: USS Enterprise-D Conn Officer, ensign *2367-2370: Starfleet Academy's Nova Squadron, cadet *2379: Starfleet lieutenant junior grade Appendices Appearances in a parallel universe]] * ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** (only in memories) ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** (parallel universe) ** * Background Wesley was played by Wil Wheaton. William A. Wallace played 25-year-old Wesley in . On the special The Star Trek Saga: From One Generation To The Next, in an interview with Gene Roddenberry, he says that Wesley was based on himself a little bit along his own memories of his youth although Roddenberry admits he was never the genius that Wesley was. (Gene's middle name was Wesley). In the early development of the series, the character was female, with the name "Leslie Crusher" (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion). Wesley Crusher also has the distinction of being one of sci-fi's most hated characters. In a poll done by Maxim magazine only ''Star Wars''' Jar Jar Binks topped Crusher's level of annoyance. The fans polled were mostly quoted as saying he was "forced down their throats." Fans expressed annoyance that Wesley always seemed to be the one to save the Enterprise, however, during an interview on DVD special features, Wheaton claimed that Wesley only saved the ship 'one and a half times.' Nevertheless, in his online reviews of early TNG episodes, Wheaton admits that he understands where the fans' hatred comes from and lays the blame firmly at the feet of the writers for making the character seem pretentious, through dialogue and through their tendency to have Wesley deduce answers too easily, as in the episode ' when Wesley made everyone else (including, in Wheaton's own words, "the hypersmart robot") look ridiculous by too easily solving the problem from just "glancing" at sensor readings that no one else could solve. According to Wheaton, even he hated Wesley after these kinds of scenes. In a deleted scene from the Special Edition DVD of Star Trek Nemesis, Wesley explains at the wedding scene that he was being assigned to the under Captain William Riker as part of the Engineering team. No explanation for his return from his journey with The Traveler was given. This scene is also featured in the novelization of Nemesis. As part of Star Trek The Exhibition, Wesley appears as a Lieutenant Commander and assistant chief engineer on the USS Titan. This was first reported in on Wil Wheaton's blog. http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/2008/01/announcement-tw.html Ronald D. Moore commented: :"I was the one who pushed to get Wesley out of the Academy and send him off with the Traveler. I felt that there was a built-in contradiction in a character that we'd said was like Mozart in his appreciation of higher mathematics and physics, yet was just on the same career path as any Starfleet cadet. I didn't get it – if Wes is truly special and gifted, what the hell is he doing at the Helm? It seemed like he was only going to the Academy to live up to the memory of his father and the expectations of Picard, not because it was his best destiny. "Journey's End" also seemed like an opportunity to see someone walk away from Starfleet with their head held high and just say "''It's cool, but not for me." I was tired of everyone in the 24th century saying, "All I want to do is wear the uniform and serve on a starship." Hey, it's cool, but it's not for everyone. So I pushed to have Wes realize his destiny was elsewhere and have him walk away."'' In , ZENtertainment (a now-defunct Hollywood news source) reported http://www.countingdown.com/movies/1377/movieinfo/cast?item_id=688764 "Ashley Judd was on ''Letterman the other night to promote her new movie, High Crimes. Letterman surprised her with a clip of her appearance on TNG, where she went on a date with Wesley Crusher. Judd mentioned that she was reprising the role (of Robin Lefler) in Star Trek Nemesis as Wesley's wife." http://www.boxofficeprophets.com/tickermaster/listing.cfm?TMID=471 This never happened, however. This was also reported by About Sci-Fi, which added to the report "... Wil Wheaton, however, says he's heard nothing about that. Somehow, I'm not surprised Wesley doesn't know he's married." Later on, "''Judd's spokesperson denied this cameo appearance." http://www.scifispace.com/html/startrekx.php In , Wil Wheaton found out and reported http://www.wilwheaton.net/mt/archives/001089.php that his scene had been cut from . There was no mention (by him) about Judd or Lefler. Apocrypha In the "A Time To..." novel series, Wesley remained a traveler and was in a Starfleet uniform at Riker and Troi's wedding because he had appeared on Earth naked, expecting a Betazoid wedding and so Picard had a uniform beamed down from the Enterprise for Wesley. In the Voyager novel Enemy of My Enemy, Wesley appeared during Chakotay's spirit walk. External links * * * de:Wesley Robert Crusher es:Wesley Crusher fr:Wesley Crusher ja:ウェスリー・クラッシャー nl:Wesley Crusher Crusher, Wesley Crusher, Wesley Crusher, Wesley